Controversy Erupts Over Beijing's Massive Hydropower Project - You Won't Believe the Backlash!

China’s Ambitious Water Projects: Mega-Dams and Mega-Problems

Beijing’s grand vision for water management is crystal clear through its groundbreaking hydropower dam project on Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo river. Seemingly unstoppable, this venture is projected to surpass anything seen before in this realm.

The Astonishing Scope of the Project:

The proposed dam will utilize the river’s “Great Bend”, a dramatic location where the river navigates a sharp turn around a towering Himalayan peak, dropping 2,000 meters in elevation before flowing into India.
With a planned output nearly three times larger than the current world’s largest hydropower initiative, the Three Gorges Dam, the cost of constructing this mammoth structure is estimated at a staggering $137bn.
This venture epitomizes China’s historical fixation on water control, a legacy dating back to Mao Zedong’s era.

The Historical Context:

Founder of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong’s ideology that “man is born to conquer nature” still influences leadership decisions today.
A delicate balance exists in implementing large-scale projects without compromising local communities, environments, and diplomatic ties with neighboring countries sharing the same river basins.

China’s Water Challenges:

Despite being home to the world’s second-largest population, China boasts just 6% of global water resources, raising concerns about uneven distribution between wetter southern regions and arid northwestern territories.
The country’s political leaders, often with technical backgrounds, favor engineering solutions, exemplified by President Xi Jinping’s focus on water governance, harking back to ancient hydraulic engineering marvels like the Dujiangyan system.

China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project:
– A nationwide initiative launched over two decades ago to transfer water across basins, featuring “three verticals” and “four horizontals”, aims to address water scarcity concerns.
– The eastern and central routes of this project, operational since 2013 and 2014 respectively, illustrate the complexity and scale involved in rerouting water resources.
– Challenges such as pollution in donor regions, threats to local ecosystems, and potential shifts in climate patterns pose existential risks to this ambitious undertaking.

In Conclusion:
China’s relentless pursuit of water management through mega-dams and inter-basin transfer projects exhibits a blend of vision, execution, and inherent risks. Balancing ecological, economic, and geopolitical considerations remains a tightrope walk for Beijing, impacting not just its domestic waters but also rippling through neighboring nations. The evolution of China’s water landscape epitomizes the delicate dance between human ambition and environmental stewardship.